(Image Credit: CFJC News)

By Sydney Chisholm

Eli Jones

Kamloops Minor Hockey Association honours life of six-year-old Eli Jones with new award

Mar 11, 2024 | 6:30 PM

KAMLOOPS – Six-year-old Eli Jones loved playing hockey and was a proud U7 Kamloops Canuck.

Young Eli died in the hospital on Christmas Eve due to complications with an illness. It has been a difficult time for his family, teammates and everyone involved with the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association (KMHA).

Eli’s name will live on with the club and the U7 division with the Eli Jones Player of the Year Award.

“It’s pretty cool that we can come here and see it and reflect on it,” said Eli’s father, Tory Jones. “It’s a positive to come from a negative. It’s nice to see something in his honour and my family is forever grateful.”

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After Eli’s passing, his family worked with the association to find the proper way to honour him. Along with the award, the KMHA also retired number 16, Eli’s jersey number.

“We decided that we would talk to the family and they said that would be great because I think it gave them a little bit of closure as well,” said Nathan Bosa, KMHA president. “I know that some of us needed it [closure] as well at the association.”

Eli’s family knew a player of the year award was the right way to honour their son.

“Eli loved hockey so much to the point that I asked him if he wanted to do any summer sports — like basketball or baseball. And he was like, ‘No.’ He asked, ‘Is there just anything that involves hockey?’” Tory told CFJC News. “We’re playing hockey in the driveway, hockey on the ice, hockey up at Synergy on synthetic ice. The boy loved hockey.”

The Eli Jones Award will be given to a player at the end of every season.

“Eli would be ecstatic. You know, he’s a lover of the sport. [He was] up early for a hockey practice, loved to train, loved to just be with his teammates,” said Jones.

This year, the winner of the inaugural award was Eli’s teammate, Mick Norwood.

“Mick’s a hard-working boy, he’s very kind and works really hard out there and kicks butt for Eli every day,” said Mick’s mother, Cheriese Norwood.

But the award won’t be Eli’s only legacy with the team.

“He’s a diehard Avalanche fan,” Bosa explained. “When he got the Canucks jerseys, he was so disappointed and so mad. He stuck playing with the team. I don’t think he really liked it but he was, you know, hoping that next year there would be Avalanche jerseys and I’m hoping that there will be.”